“Plus-Minus” Amendments to Regular Appropriations Measures
November 15, 2021
“Plus-Minus” Amendments to Regular Appropriations
Measures
“Plus-Minus” Amendments
impose any statutory conditions on the use of the
In current practice, the House of Representatives typically
appropriation by an agency.
provides for Members to offer amendments during the
initial consideration of regular appropriations bills. Among
Instead, these amendments allow Members to speak during
the various types of amendments that Members may offer
the floor consideration of an appropriations measure. After
are so-called “plus-minus” amendments. These
offering a plus-minus amendment on the floor, Members
amendments are typically drafted in such a way that no
are recognized to speak on their amendments and may use
substantive changes would be made to the text of the bill.
their floor remarks to highlight a particular issue or request
Instead, such amendments provide for an amount of
an agency to use its existing discretion to allot an
funding to be both added to and subtracted from a specified
appropriation for a specific purpose (e.g., to submit a report
account or activity. By offering an amendment of this type,
to Congress, allocate funds in a certain way, or take a
Members can obtain floor time to speak during the
specific administrative action). These types of remarks
consideration of an appropriations measure. Many
allow Members to publicly signal their spending priorities
Members use their remarks to signal informal support for
in a way that would not substantively modify the text of an
an agency to use its existing discretion to allot funds in a
appropriations measure.
particular manner or to highlight a particular issue related to
the appropriations measure.
Members have also used plus-minus amendments to make
more general floor remarks (e.g., making general comments
In recent years, Members have offered an increasing
about the bill under consideration, advocating for a
number of plus-minus amendments. This In Focus
particular issue or policy change, or marking a significant
addresses the changing role that these amendments play in
anniversary or historical event). For example, a Member
the House’s consideration of regular appropriations
offered an amendment to H.R. 3055 (116th Congress)—the
measures. It provides an overview of the amendments’
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
typical form and principal functions in the House’s current
Appropriations Act, 2020—that proposed to increase and
appropriations process, outlines several key procedural
decrease the National Space Council’s appropriation by
considerations related to their use, and provides statistics
$1,969 dollars (H.Amdt. 394). Once recognized, the
about their use and disposition during the 113th-116th
Member who offered the amendment used his floor remarks
Congresses.
to comment on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11
mission. (Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 165
Typical Form and Function
(June 19, 2019), p. H4888).
Plus-minus amendments have a unique form, which
distinguishes them from other types of amendments that are
The dollar amount specified in a plus-minus amendment
offered during the House’s consideration of regular
may be chosen to reflect the costs associated with a
appropriations measures. The text of a plus-minus
Member’s request to an agency, or it may be chosen for its
amendment proposes to modify the amount of budget
symbolic value, as in the example above. It is also common
authority provided in an appropriations measure by
for Members to offer plus-minus amendments with nominal
inserting two parenthetical phrases that would increase and
increases and decreases of a single dollar. (See amendments
decrease a dollar amount by equal and offsetting amounts.
number 20 and 31, Congressional Record, daily edition,
The following plus-minus amendment offered during the
vol. 165 (June 26, 2019), p. H5177).
House’s consideration of H.R. 4502 (117th Congress)—an
Procedural Considerations
omnibus measure containing the text of seven FY2022
A procedural advantage of plus-minus amendments is that
regular appropriations bills —provides an illustrative
because the amendment has no net budgetary effect and
example of their typical form:
does not include any substantive language concerning the
use of funds or agency duties or authority, these
Page 71, line 8, after the dollar amount insert
amendments are consistent with the requirements of House
“(reduced by $10,000,000)
(increased by
rules.
$10,000,000).”
(Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 167 (July 27, 2021), p. H4064)
Although the majority of plus-minus amendments are
agreed to by the House, these amendments do not impose
Even if they are agreed to on the floor, plus-minus
any statutory requirements on the agency receiving an
amendments would not change the amount of funding
appropriation or change the amount of funding provided by
provided by an appropriations measure, nor would they
an appropriations measure. Any text inserted by plus-minus
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“Plus-Minus” Amendments to Regular Appropriations Measures
amendments is typically removed before the underlying
Figure 1. Plus-Minus Amendments, by Congress
appropriations measure is enacted into law. As a result,
plus-minus amendments will not affect the text of an
appropriations measure that is enacted into law. Any
substantive impact that a plus-minus amendment has is the
result of the informal influence resulting from a Member’s
floor remarks.
Frequency and Disposition in Recent
Congresses
Since the start of the 115th Congress, the House has
exclusively used structured special rules to set the
procedural terms and conditions for the initial floor
consideration of regular appropriations measures. Under the
terms of such special rules, the Rules Committee
determines which amendments are made in order for a
measure’s floor consideration, including plus-minus
amendments. Members wishing to offer an amendment
under a structured rule need to submit such an amendment
to the Rules Committee for its consideration and approval.
Source: Congressional Research Service’s analysis of amendment
information available on Congress.gov.
The number of plus-minus amendments has grown rapidly
in recent Congresses, and these amendments account for a
growing share of the floor amendments offered to regular
Of the total 553 plus-minus amendments that were offered
appropriations bills. In the 113th Congress, such
to appropriations measures during the 113th-116th
amendments were 5% of the total number of amendments
Congresses, 95% received a vote and 5% were withdrawn.
offered to regular appropriations bills during their initial
Among those amendments that received a vote, 96% were
floor consideration. That percentage increased to 8% in the
agreed to and 4% were not agreed to. Of the plus-minus
114th Congress and to 18% in the 115th Congress. During
amendments receiving a vote, 83% were disposed of via a
the 116th Congress, 34% of all amendments offered to
voice vote, and the remaining 17% were disposed of via a
regular appropriations measures during their initial floor
roll call vote.
consideration were plus -minus amendments.
Finally, 338 (64%) of the plus-minus amendments receiving
In total, 553 plus-minus amendments were offered to
a vote were considered and disposed of “en bloc,” i.e., they
regular appropriations measures over the previous four
were grouped together with other amendments and disposed
Congresses, out of a total 3,077 offered amendments: 34
of via a single vote. Of these amendments, 295 (87%) were
were offered during the 113th Congress, 67 were offered
disposed of via a voice vote and the remainder were
during the 114th Congress, 110 were offered during the
disposed of via a roll call vote.
115th Congress, and 342 were offered during the 116th
Congress.
Kevin P. McNellis, Analyst on Congress and the
Legislative Process
IF11973
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“Plus-Minus” Amendments to Regular Appropriations Measures
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